Metallic flooring



lg M, 1936. G. L. DRESSER METALLIC FLOORING Fi'led Feb. 19, 1935 2Sheets-Sheet l Aug. l1, 1936. G. l.. DRESSER METALLIC FLOORING FiledFeb. 19, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Aug. 11, 1936 C FLOGG George L.Dresser, Albany, N. Y.

Application February 19, 1935, Serial N o. 7,260

14 Claims.

This invention relates to metallic flooring and particularly to metallicooring or gratings suitable for use on bridges, both highway andrailroad bridges, as railroad crossovers at grades, and in the formationof pavements and roadways subjected to heavy trafiic. The presentapplication constitutes a continuation in part of my application, SerialNo. 709,033, filed January 30, 1934.

It is the object of the invention to provide a metallic flooringconstruction having numerous advantages over those heretofore designed,suggested, or actually used, of which there are a very considerablenumber of different types. More specifically stated, it is an object ofthe invention to provide a stiff, strong, and durable flooring which isat` the same time relatively light in weight and inexpensive tofabricate and install. The flooring is so designed as to have thegreatest strength for a given metal used in its fabrication, thus notonly reducing to a minimum its original cost, but providing a flooringwhich may be utilized in many places where metallic grating structuresof different types, but of equal strength, could not be used owing tothe great weight of such floorings. For instance, in resurfacingexisting bridges, it is not possible to use a flooring of greater weightthan that which the bridge was intended originally to support, at leastWithout making extensive and costly repairs, thus making it impossibleto use most, if not all, of the types of metallic iioorings now in use.

The iiooring, while having the general nature of an open gridwork orgrating, requires no filling of concrete or other material and theentire weight of the ooring is only that of the combined weights of themetallic members which enter into its construction, together with thematerials used in securing these members together, such as bolts,rivets, or welds, preferably welds. It will be understood, however, thata filler of concrete or bituminous or other materials may be readilyapplied should it not be necessary to minimize the Weight of thestructure.

A further object of the invention is to provide a fiooring of suchcharacter as to eliminate all possibility of skidding of the vehiclespassing over the same. It is frequently found that with most types ofbridge floorings now used that, at least in certain seasons of the year,traic is greatly impeded due to the likelihood of skidding 'of thevehicles passing over the same. This is true not only of non-metallicoorings, such as wood block floorings, but also of floorings of steeland concrete, in fact, any iioorings which present trac surfaces ofcontinuous and unbroken nature.

A flooring constructed in accordance with the plane. Each such elementtherefore has its edges acccessible to the wheels of the vehiclespassing over the flooring, the spaces between the elements not beinglled in with concrete or other material, even if a filler is added,there being no filling material placed in the plane of the traffic 15surface. Preferably, each individual traiiic supporting element hasedges disposed normally to the direction of traffic and also edgesdisposed generally parallel to the direction of tratlic. With thetraffic supporting elements so designed, skidding of vehicles both inthe direction of traiiic and laterally of the direction of traffic isprey vented and the improved trailic surface is one over which wheeledvehicles may pass at anyv speed, while at the same time they/are neverout of control of the drivers.

As preferably no concrete or other lling material is utilized inconnection with the ooring, and the flooring is merely supported uponspaced metallic supporting beams, snow, ice, and

rain cannot collect upon the uppermost or'trafile bearing surface, butpasses downwardly through the spaces intermediate the trafc supportingelements. Even under the worst conditions, as in the winter seasons,when snow, ice, fog, and rain are prevalent, the flooring willbe keptclear so long as there is any traffic and the anti-skidding featuresofthe flooring fully realized. While designed particularly as a ooring forsupporting the passage of motor vehicles employing pneumatic tires,which vehicles generally proceed at relatively high speeds and have atendency to slide or skid in bad weather, the flooring is entirelysuitable for solid tire wagons and horse drawn vehicles. It is durableand may be repaired with ease at any time, all portions of the metallicflooring being accessible for this purpose.

Referring now to the drawings, in which one embodiment of the inventionis set forth by way of example. Y

In the drawings:

Figure 1 illustrates in perspective view a supporting structure uponwhich one form of the novel flooring is mounted;

Figure 2 is a plan view ci.' the flooring illustrated in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a section on line 3-3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a similar section but taken through an alternative form ofthe flooring;

Figure 5 is a plan view of portion of a flooring generally similar tothat shown in Figure 1 but constructed in a slightly different manner;

Figure 6 is a section on line 6 6 of Figure 5;

Figure 7 is a section through a further modified form of flooring; and

Figure 8 is a section through a still further form of flooring, thetread of a heavy vehicle tire being shown thereon to indicate the mannerin which such a tire cooperates with the trafilc surface of the flooringin passing over the same.

'Ihe flooring comprises traffic engaging and supporting elements I0,arranged in a common and generally horizontal plane, and web members Ilwhich support the traffic elements I0 and which transfer the weights ofthese elements, together with the weights of any vehicles superposedthereon, to a supporting structure of any available type. In Figure 1portions of the supporting structure are indicated at I2 and are seen tocomprise two spaced parallel I-beams such as, for instance, are usuallyemployed to support bridge floors. Any` other suitable or availablesupporting structure may of course be employedprovided it has thenecessary carrying capacity and rigidity. Preferably the trafficengaging and supporting elements I0 are formed as shown in the drawings,comprising metallic plates rectangular in form, the upper surfaces ofwhich are arranged in a common plane so that these elements present, inthe aggregate, a suitable tramo surface. As may be seen, the elementsare spaced or disconnected in the plane of the traffic surface so thatthe wheels of vehicles cannot slide or skid from one element to anotherover a continuous or unbroken metallic surface, as is generally thecasewith the gridlike metallic floorings now in common use. As viewed inplan, the elements I0 are disposed in checkerboard relationship and inarea comprise, in the aggregate, approximately fifty per cent of theprojected area of the roadway. In other words, the ooring presents tothe wheels of the vehicles passing over it a surface only approximatelyfifty per cent of which is actually wheel supporting surface, the otherapproximate fty per cent being voids or spaces intermediate saidelements. It will also be noticed'that each element has voids or spacesat its ends and voids or spaces at its sides. The directions of trafficare indicated by the arrows A and C in Figure 2, the wheels of thevehicles passing lengthwise over the several supporting elements I0although this arrangement may be reversed if desired.

In the form of the invention shown in Figure 1 the traflic elements I0have their ends supported respectively upon the upper edges of parallelsupporting web' members II, arranged in vertical planes, the lower edgesof these web members resting upon the upper surfaces of the supportingbeams I2. Also it will be perceived that the supporting webs Il vary incharacter, certain .of these members comprising flat sheet metalplatesvP, and others rolled sections, such asl-beams B, the plates P andI-beams B alternating throughout the structure. Furthermore, in thisform of the invention, the elements I0 comprise integral flange-likeportions of plates P, being disposed at right angles to these webplates, alternating elements I0, however, extending in oppositedirections from the upper edges of the plates. The end of each'element I0 remote from the plate I I, of which it comprises an integral part, iswelded to the upper surface of one of the I-beams B, these welds beingindicated at I3. 'I'he lower edges of the plates P and the I-beams B arealso welded to the upper surfaces of the supporting structure I2, thesewelds being indicated at I4. Other means for securing the severalportions of the structure together may be utilized if desired, but Ihave found in actual practice that by welding, the cost of assembly isminimized and assembly of the several parts of the structure in thefield facilitated. The resulting structure is also made very strong andrigid by welding.

The beams B intermediate the plates P may have wide or narrow flanges,the flanges of a Wide flanged beam being illustrated by way of exampleat B and the flanges of anarrow flanged beam B being indicated at B. Theexact design of the beams may be varied considerably in designing thestructure to provide the requisite strength, having in view the natureof the traflic which the flooring is intended to support and also Vthenature of the lower supporting structure.

As previously pointed out, each series of traffic supporting elements I0are preferably formed integral with the associated web P. This resultcan be conveniently achieved by fabricating a wide thin plate having thenecessary length. The plate is first subjected to suitable cutting orstamping operations whereby long narrow strips of metal are removed,narrow parallel slots being formed beginning at one edge and extendingdownwardly to approximately the center line of the plate, thus leaving aplurality of tongues or elements I0 disposed in a common plane, which isthe plane of the original plate. Next, by means of suitable machines,the elements I0 are bent or turned into a common plane normal to theplane of the remaining portion or web of the plate P, alternate elementsI0 being turned in different directions. In this manner flooringmembers, such as illustrated in Figures 1, 2, and 3 are cheaply andconveniently fabricated from flat elongated steel plates.

The beams B are commercial beams which. require no special fabricatingoperations and hence it is clear that the flooring comprises commercialshapes of the simplest kind and that a mnimum of expense is met with inthe fabrication of its component members. The thickness of the plates Pwill vary with the nature of the particular ooring under constructionand may be made greater in the case of wide iloorings adapted to carryheavy loads and less in the case of narrower floorings or flooringsintended to carry relatively light loads. The lengths of the elements I0and the distances between each beam B and adjacent plates P may likewisebe varied in accordance with structural requirements.

In Figure 4 of the drawings a generally similar type of flooring isillustrated, but in this case the single plates P of the form of theinvention just described are replaced by two parallel plates P' incontiguous relationship and suitably secured together. Each web or platehas but a single series of elements I0 integral with its upper edge andpreferably the elements of each plate extend horizontally over the upperedge of the adjacent plate so that these plates are in a senseinterlocked.

In the form of the invention shown in Figures 5 and 6 the intermediatebeams are omitted and each element l0 has both of its ends formedintegrally with the upper edge of a plate P2, adjacent plates beingpreferably welded together. This forms a very light but very strongstructure of identical units and, in some cases, is to be preferredtothe two forms of the invention just above described.

A further alternative form of the invention is illustrated in Figure 'iin which the intermediate beams are omitted, each plate P having aseries of elements I0 integral with its upper edge and the outer or freeend of each such element being welded to the upper edge of the nextadjacent plate P. Naturally, in this form ofthe invention, each platehas but a single series of `elements I0 integral therewith and all ofthe elements of this series extend in the same direction from theassociated plate. The lower end of each plate is welded to thesupporting structure, as in the other forms of the invention.

In Figure 8,is rather diagrammatically illustrated a portionof the treadof a large pneumatic tire, this tire resting upon the upper surface ofthe ooring. It will be seen that minor areas of the tire surface willproject downwardly into the spaces or voids between the elements I0 sothat the tire will rmly engage at a number of places with the edges ofthese ele-` ments. The elements are not so far spaced apart, however, asto permit any substantial area of the tire to remain unsupported so thatexcessive pressure-between the tire tread and the corner of the elementswould result, thus leading to the cutting of the tire surface. I havefound that a very satisfactory bridge ooring, for instance, is providedwhen the plates P are spaced four inches from the intermediate beams B,measuring from center to center, the elements I0 being thereforeapproximately four inches long. The spaces between adjacent elements l0,measured transversely of the direction of traffic or longitudinally ofthe plates and beams were in this instance 2% inches and the elementsthemselves were approximately 11/2 inches wide. As has been beforeexplained, however, the invention is not limited to particulardimensions but the various parts of the ilooring may be designed, withinlimits, to suit existing conditions.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desiredto be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. Metallic ooring comprising a supporting structure and a plurality ofilat metallic elements arranged in a plane parallel to the plane of thesupporting structure, said elements being spaced apart and togethercomprising the main trac supporting surfaces of a grid-like grating, anda plurality of webs disposed nonnally to the plane of said elements andextending to the supporting structure, a plurality of said elementsbeing secured to and supported by each of said web members.

2. Metallic flooring comprising a plurality of individual metallicelements disposed in a plane to provide a grid-like traillc surface, anda plurality of webs disposed normally to said plane, a plurality of saidelements being rigidly xed to the upper edge of each of said webs andeach element being only suicient in length to overlie two adjacent webs.

3. Metallic ooring comprising a plurality of.

flat metallic individual elements disposed in a plane and arranged inparallel rows, the elements of each row being spaced apart andalternating with the elements of adjacent rows, a pluralityof webs, tothe upper edge of each of which 'is secured the elements of a single row5 of elements, and supporting means for the webs.

4. Metallic flooring comprising a, plurality of flat metallic elementsdisposed in aplane and arranged in 4parallel rows, the elements of eachrow being spaced apart and alternating with the element-s of adjacentrows, and a plurality of vertically disposed webs extending from saidplane to a supporting structure, each element resting upon and beingrigidly secured to two of said webs.

5. Metallic ooring comprising a plurality of ilat metallic elementsdisposed in a plane and arranged in parallel rows, the elements of eachrow being spaced apart and alternating with the elements of adjacentrows, and a plurality 20 of vertically disposed webs extending from saidplane to a supporting structure, each element comprising an integralportion of one web and being rigidly secured to a second.

6. Metallic ooring comprising a supporting 25 structure, a plurality ofsubstantially parallel members supported thereby, each such memberhaving a web portion disposed in a vertical plane and two series ofspaced integral ange elements projecting in opposite directions from theupper edge of said web portion, and means positioned intermediate eachpair of webs for supporting the free ends of the flange elementsprojecting from each such web toward the other. '7. Metallicooringcomprising a supporting structure, a plurality of substantiallyparallel members supported thereby, each such member having a webportion disposed in a vertical plane and two series of spaced integralilange elements projecting in opposite directions from the upper edge ofsaid web portion, and a vertically disposed plate positionedintermediate each pair of webs for supporting upon its upper surface thefree ends of the flange elements projecting from each such web towardthe other. 8. Metallic flooring comprising a supporting structure, a.plurality of substantially parallel members supported thereby, each suchmember having a web portion disposed in a vertical plane and two seriesof spaced integral flange elements projecting in opposite directionsfrom the upper edge of said web portion, and means positionedintermediate each pair of webs for supporting the free ends of theflange elements projecting from each such web toward the other,- thefree ends of the ange elements being welded to said means.

9. Metallic ilooring comprising a supporting structure, a plurality ofsubstantially parallel members supported thereby, each such member 00having a web portion disposed in a vertical plane and two series ofspaced integral ange elements projecting in opposite directions from theupper edge of said web portion, and a vertically disposed beampositioned intermediate eac'h pair of 65 webs for supporting upon itsupper surface the free ends of the ange elements projecting from eachsuch web toward the other, the free ends of the ange elements beingwelded to the at horizontal upper surface of said beam, and the having aweb portion disposed in a vertical plane and a series of spaced flangeelements projecting in one direction from the upper edge thereof, thefree ends of the members projecting from the upper edge of one such weboverlying and resting upon the upper edge of the next adjacent web.

11. Metallic flooring comprising a supporting structure, a plurality ofsubstantially parallel members supported thereby. each such memberhaving a web portion disposed in a vertical plane and a series of spacediiange elements projecting in one direction from the upper edge thereof,the free end of each element projecting from the upper edge of one suchweb lying in the space between two such elements of the next adjacentweb and directly upon the upper edge of such web.

12. The combination set forth in claim `1l in which the free ends of theelements projecting from one web are welded to the top of the nextadjacent web.

13. The combination set forth in claim 8 in which the intermediatesupporting means comprise webs provided with flanges at both top andbottom edges thereof.

14. Metallic flooring comprising a plurality of fiat horizontallydisposed metallic elements the upper surfaces of which, respectively,terminate in well defined vertical wheel engaging edges, each elementhaving one edge disposed transversely to the direction of tramo and.another edge substantially parallel to the direction of trafiic, suchupper surfaces, taken together, forming a traic supporting surface andsaid elements being spaced apart in the plane of the trame surface toprovide open spaces therebetween and to permit a vehicle wheel to engagesaid edges and to be thereby prevented from skidding, and metallic meanssupporting said elements.

, K GEORGE L. DRESSER.

